Memorial frame



Patented July 7, 1942 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE l 2,288,732 Y f MEMORIAL FRAME Arthur N. Nickerson, Athol, IdahoI Application May 9, 1940, Serial No. 334,275

(cl. io- 160) 5` Claims.

This invention relates to a memorial frame and it is one object of the invention to provide `a device of this character which is of such con- `photographs and wedding flowers in the frame or casing in position to be seen at opposite sides thereof.

Another object of thel invention is to so form the casing or housing constituting the frame that sections thereof may be firmly but detachably secured in telescoping relation to each other in enclosing relation to backing plates which are urged forward by panes of glass and serve to corinne thepictures and flowers in position to be seen through sight openings in the casing sections. v

Another object of the invention is to so form the backing plates that flowers may be held in a mass between thebacking plates and the sheets of glass or other transparent material back of and about pictures and thus form an attractive border or backing for the pictures.

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved support for the frame or casing so formed that the frame will be pivotally mounted for tilting adjustment and frictionally held in adjusted position.

Another object of the invention is to provide a device of this character which is simple in construction and easy to assemble.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawing, wherein:

"Fig 1 is a view showing the device in front elevation.

Fig. 2 is aside elevation thereof.

Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken vertically through the frame on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 `is a sectional view taken horizontally through the frame andshowing a modified form of backing plates and springs.

Fig. 5 is a view similar to Fig. 3, showing a modified construction.

This improved memorial device has a housing or casing l which may be referred to as a frame and consists of companion sections 2 and 3 which are formed of sheet metal or other suitable material. These sections are of annular formation and provided with sight openings bordered by flanges 4 and 5 which overlap marginal portions of sheets of glass or other transparent material 6 and 1. The peripheral wall of section 2 ts snugly about the peripheral wall of section 55 3 and is formed .with bayonet slots 8 to receive pins 9 which project radially from opposite sides of section 3. Therefore, the sections 2 and 3 may be intertted in telescoping engagement with each other, with the pins 9 passing through the slots 8 and the sections then turned circumferentially relative to each other to move the pins into the inner end portions of the slots and the two sections will be firmly but detachably held in engagement with each other.

In order that the frame or casing may be set upon a table or the like, there has been provided a stand havingH a baseY Il carrying an upwardly extending yoke l2 formed of resilient metal. This yoke is of U-shape and has upper ends of its arms flattened andperforated to form eyes I3 through which the pins 9 pass to pivotally mount the frame for tilting movement, and since the yoke is resilient and its arms must be sprung apart in order to permit the pins to be engaged through the eyes, contraction of the yoke will cause the eyes to frictionally grip the annular wall of section 2 and cause the frame to be frictionally held against pivotal movement after `(i and 1, together with the flowers which surround the pictures as a border and also extend back of the pictures to serve as a pad or backing for the pictures. A backing plate l1 is provided for each mass of flowers and referring to Fig. 3,

it will be seen that the backing plates are of concavo-convex formation. These backing plates have their concave surfaces confronting each other and their marginal edges in contact with each other. A helical spring I8 extends between the backing plates centrally thereof and urges the backing plates away from each other toward the transparent plates, so that the flowers will be conned between the backing plates and the transparent plates and prevented from shifting out of predetermined relation to the pictures. Since the convex surfaces of the backing plates confront the transparent plates, ample room will be provided for the flowers about the pictures and back of the pictures the owersv will be compressed into masses forming pads which constitute a good backing for the pictures and rmly hold the pictures against slipping out of position centrally of the transparent plates. While two pictures have been shown in the frame or casing to commemorate a wedding, it is obvious that a single picture surrounded by flowers may be placed in the casing between a backing plate and one of the glass plates as a mernento of a deceased person, in which case any suitable packing material may be placed between the other backing plate and the pane of glass at the other side of the frame or, if desired, a sheet of opaque material 6 may be substituted in place of the second pane of glass as shown in Fig. 5, and the spring I8 bears against this sheet of opaque material.

In Fig. 4, there has been shown a modified construction wherein the backing plates I9 are in the form of flat discs instead of concavo-convex discs. It should also be noted that instead of a helical spring, there have been provided leaf springs 20 secured to the plates I9 by pivots 2|. These leaf springs extendin crossed relation to each other and each is curved longitudinally and has its end portions bearing against the inner I.

face of the backing plate confronting the backing plate to which it is secured midway of its length. The two springs urge the backing plates away from each other and cause the flowers and pictures to be held rmly against the transparent plates. In other respects, the device illustrated in Fig. 4 is of the same construction as that illustrated in Figs. 1, 2 and 3.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed is:

l. In a device of the character described, a housing of companion sections detachably held in engagement with each other and formed with sight openings, transparent closure plates for said sight openings mounted in the housing sections, backing plates in said housing of concavoconvex formation having their convex faces confronting the closure plates and their concave faces presented towards each other, and a helical spring between the concave faces of said backing plates having its end portions bearing against the backing plates centrally thereof and urging the backing plates away from each other toward the closure plates for conning articles and surrounding masses of backing material in the housing between the backing plates. and the closure plates in position to be seen through the sight openings.

2. In a device of the character described, a housing of companion sections detachably held in engagement with each other and formed with sight openings, transparent closure plates for said sight openings mounted in the housing sections, backing plates in said housing of concavoconvex formation having their convex faces confronting the closure plates, and spring means between the backing plates. urging the backing plates away from each other toward the closure plates for confining a picture and a mass of memorial flowers around and back of the picture between each backing plate and the companion closure plate.

3. In a device of the character described, a housing of companion sections detachably held in engagement with each other and formed with sight openings, transparent closure plates for the sight openings mounted in the housing sections, backing plates in said housing having convex outer surfaces confronting the closure plates, spring means between the opposing faces of the backing plates urging the backing plates from toward each other toward the closure plates, a picture of appreciably less diameter than the backing plate disposed against the inner face of each closure plate, and a mass of memorial iiowers confined between each closure plate and the companion backing plate and held in place by pressure of the backing plate with portions of the owers disposed between the pictures and the backing plates and other portions of the flowers surrounding the pictures.

4. In a device of the character described, a housing of companion sections releasably held in engagement with each other, one section being formed with a sight opening, a transparent closure plate for the sight opening, a concave-conveX backing plate in said housing with its convex surface vconfronting the closure plate, a picture of appreoiably less dimensions than the backing plate disposed against the inner face of the closure plate concentric to the backing plate, a mass of flowers between the closure plate and the backing plate having a position between the picture and the backing plate and other portions surrounding the picture, and spring means in the housing engaging the concave surface of the backing plate and urging the backing plate toward the closure plate for confining the picture and the flowers in the housing between the closure plate and the backing plate with the picture and the portion 0f the flowers surrounding the picture displayed through the closure plate.

5. In a device of the character described, a housing of companion sections having peripheral walls in telescoping engagement with each other, one section having a sight opening, the wall of one section having bayonet slots formed therein, pins extending from the wall of the other section and passing through the slots to releasably hold the sections together, a stand including a yoke having its arms formed with eyes pivotally receiving said pins and applying pressure to the housing to hold the housing in angularly adjusted position in the yoke, a transparent closure plate for the sight opening, and means in the housing for mounting a display in positionrto be viewed through the sight opening.

ARTHUR N. NICKERSON. 

